Information for Current and Potential Grantees

Information for Current and Potential Grantees

New York State is committed to making the grant contracting process easier for grantees. The Grant Opportunity Portal and the Grants Gateway will improve the way New York State administers grants by simplifying and streamlining the grants management process.

The Grant Opportunity Portal

The Grant Opportunity Portal is a one-stop shop for anyone interested in locating funding opportunities. State agencies have already posted nearly 100 upcoming and available procurements and are adding to the list on a daily basis. You can search for and download solicitations with no login required. Check out the Grant Opportunity Portal today!

The Grants Gateway

The Grants Gateway is the next step for organizations interested in doing business with New York State. This spring, State agency funding opportunities will begin to be posted on the Gateway for online application. To prepare for this exciting transition, it is essential that all potential bidders register with the Gateway and create an account that will provide full access to the system. Potential applicants can locate online opportunities by clicking View Opportunities on the user’s Home page.

Prequalification Overview

Pursuant to the New York State Division of Budget Bulletin H-1032 Revised, dated July 16, 2014, New York State has instituted key reform initiatives to the grant contract process which require not-for-profits must register in the Grants Gateway and complete the Vendor Prequalification process. In the case of competitive grant opportunities:

Proposals received from not-for-profit applicants that have not Registered and are not Prequalified in the Grants Gateway on the proposal due date cannot be evaluated. Such proposals will be disqualified from further consideration.

In order to prequalify, not-for-profit organizations must submit an online Prequalification Application through the Grants Gateway. The Prequalification Application is comprised of five components to gauge organizational structure and the types of services provided. The required forms and document uploads are all part of the Document Vault. The Vendor Prequalification Manual detailing the requirements can be found in the Quick Links Section.

Prequalification Updates

Update: September 30, 2014. As of October 1, 2014, the normal pre-qualification rules are again in effect. Therefore, all organizations’ status must be “Pre-Qualified” in order to apply for funding or respond to a RFP. No organization’s status will be altered by a state agency solely for not updating their document vault to be in conformity with certain provisions of the Non-Profit Revitalization Act. Therefore, if you have not updated your vault your pre-qualification status will not be changed for not doing so. However, the next time your vault opens (as result of an expiring document or regular update your organization is making) the pre-qualification specialists will require your organization to update your vault’s documents to reflect the changes required by the new law. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Grants Gateway Team.

Update: July 2, 2014: A provision of the Not for Profit Revitalization Act of 2013 prohibits employees of non-profit organizations from serving as chair of the organization’s Board of Directors. However, Governor Cuomo recently signed Chapter 81 of the Laws of 2014. This law amends the Non-Profit Revitalization Act by allowing employees of non-profit organizations to serve as chair of their Board of Directors until January 1, 2016. Therefore, implementation of this change is no longer required for pre-qualification until January 1, 2016.

Effective July 1, 2014, not-for-profit vendors wishing to prequalify to apply for State grant funding must:

Formally adopt a Whistleblower Policy to protect employees from retaliation if they report suspected improper conduct. This requirement applies only to not-for-profits with 20 or more employees and an annual budget of more than one million dollars

Provide audit and fiscal documentation based on the following thresholds:

Gross Revenue and Support

Requirement

Up to $250,000

Board-Reviewed Internal Fin. Stmt.

At least $250,000 but not more than $500,000

CPA Review

More than $500,000

CPA Audit

Volunteer Firefighter Companies’ Pre-Qualification Status All organizations incorporated under §1402 of the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law are no longer required to pre-qualify in order to be eligible to apply for grants offered by the State of New York, enter into a contract with the State, amend an existing State contract or make a purchase with State funds. These organizations must still provide all of the information required by the grant-making State agency to demonstrate their fiscal integrity and organizational capacity. However, state agencies should not require proof of pre-qualification from volunteer fire companies when developing a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) or contract terms. This change to the pre-qualification policy will be effective immediately. Any volunteer fire company incorporated by NFPCL §1402 that is currently pre-qualified does not need maintain their document vault unless they choose to do so. Additionally, any volunteer fire company whose pre-qualification status is under review or modification by a state agency should be informed of this change in policy and be allowed to withdraw from the pre-qualification review process.

Guidance for Certain Exempt Organizations (March 24, 2014) Entities exempted by Executive Law § 172-a from submitting financial disclosure materials to the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau (such as religious organizations involved in exclusively non-secular activities) should, regardless of their annual revenue, provide their most recent internal financial report reviewed by the board. This is the same financial disclosure requirement for prequalification that applies to organizations with revenues of less than $100,000.

Guidance for Organizations Requesting IRS990 Extensions (March 24, 2014) Entities requesting filing extension of IRS990 must upload IRS form 8868 and supply a new filing due-date. Those requesting an additional (second) 3-month extension must upload either an e-file extension request receipt or IRS8868, page two, and supply a new filing due-date.

Guidance for Organizations Requesting CHAR500 Extensions (March 24, 2014) Organizations requesting extension of filing with the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau must upload the email extension request receipt, and supply a new filing due-date (six months after the regular filing deadline, as per new regulations put in place by the Charities Bureau).

Getting Started

A variety of resources are available to assist with the registration and prequalification. An online tutorial is available to walk users through the entire process. However, the basic steps are outlined below.

Register for the Grants Gateway (All Vendors)

On the Grants Reform Website, download a copy of the Registration Form for Administrator. A signed, notarized original form must be sent to the Division of Budget at the address provided in the instructions. You will be provided with a Username and Password allowing you to access the Grants Gateway.

If you have previously registered and do not know your Username please email grantsreform@budget.ny.gov . If you do not know your Password please click the Forgot Password link from the main log in page and follow the prompts.

Complete your Prequalification Application. (Not-for-Profits)

Log in to the Grants Gateway. If this is your first time logging in, you will be prompted to change your password at the bottom of your Profile page. Enter a new password and click SAVE.

Click the Organization(s) link at the top of the page and complete the required fields including selecting the State agency you have the most grants with. This page should be completed in its entirety before you SAVE. A Document Vault link will become available near the top of the page. Click this link to access the main Document Vault page.

Answer the questions in the Required Forms and upload Required Documents. This constitutes your Prequalification Application. Optional Documents are not required unless specified in a Request for Proposal or requested by a State agency.

Specific questions about the prequalification process should be referred to your agency representative or to the Grants Reform Team at grantsreform@budget.ny.gov.

Submit Your Prequalification Application (Not-for-Profits)

After completing your Prequalification Application, click the Submit Document Vault Link located below the Required Documents section to submit your Prequalification Application for State agency review. Once submitted the status of the Document Vault will change to In Review.

If your Prequalification reviewer has questions or requests changes you will receive email notification from the Gateway system.

Once your Prequalification Application has been approved, you will receive a Gateway notification that you are now prequalified to do business with New York State.

Vendors are strongly encouraged to begin the process as soon as possible in order to participate in upcoming funding opportunities.